SOURSOP (THE POWERFUL ANTIOXIDANT)

Other Names: Annona muricate, Custard apple, Guanabana, Cherimoya, Brazilian paw

Variants: None

History: Soursop is a plant that grows in rain forests of Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia.

Description: It contains over 200 phytochemicals and has anti-cancer, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties. All parts of the plant have medicinal properties.

Benefits: It can help you improve the condition of your skin, hair and nails. High in Antioxidants.

Uses: Kill Cancer Cells, help Fight Bacteria, reduce Inflammation, regulate Blood Sugar Levels

Taste: The fruit has a buttery sweet taste while the leaves have a tint of tartness

How to Use: You can take it as tea or extract but it’s best to eat the fruit and leaves raw.

Caution: None

Soursop is the fruit of Annona muricata tree found throughout the tropical regions of Central and South America. Although this fruit is not well known outside the Americas, locally, it has been used for hundreds of years.

The flesh of the fruit can be eaten raw or used as a powder or a tincture. Its culinary uses include smoothies, fruit juices, candies, sorbets, ice cream flavorings, etc but it is also used as medicine. This nutrient-dense fruit provides a lot of fiber and vitamin C and is low in calories.

The impressive health benefits of soursop include the ability to kill parasites, improve respiratory conditions, reduce the risk of certain kinds of cancer, boost the immune system, soothe the stomach, relieve pain, etc.

Nutritious and Healing

This is one of the tropical fruits that many may not have access to and that has until recently been relatively unknown. However, the local population has been aware of its numerous health benefits for a very long time and have relied on it for hundreds of years.

This is a fairly common tree throughout Central America and the fruit tastes very refreshing (something like a combination of strawberry and pineapple). It is often used to make delicious beverages.

Soursop is rich in vitamins C and B, as well as in antioxidants. The juice can be used topically, while pulverized seeds and decoctions made of leaves can be brewed as a powerful tea.

Nutrition facts of soursop are more than impressive and range from healthy carbs, healthy fats, and protein to micronutrients and antioxidants.

Soursop Health Benefits

Different parts of the plant are used to treat different conditions that range from controlling parasites, relieving arthritic pains to treating cancer. Unfortunately, this herb is not widely available, but you can benefit from its healing powers by taking soursop supplements in the form of capsules, powder or tincture.

5 common health benefits of soursop include:

1. Helps you fight cancer

Being very high in antioxidants, soursop has the potential to kill the cancer cells. Some of its compounds directly prevent cancer cells from growing and can reduce the size of tumors. Soursop is most effective if used as a prevention, ie as a supplement that reduces the risk of cancer. Current research confirms that soursop can be successfully used to reduce the risk of certain types of cancer, eg breast, pancreatic, prostate, and lung cancers. Some studies suggest that the leaves of this plant are more potent that the fruit and seeds, especially in the case of breast cancer cells.

2. Has anti-inflammatory properties

Soursop turns out to be very effective in treating inflammations, such as gout and arthritis. Simply rub some decoction of soursop on the affected area and you will soon experience relief. Soursop treatments also help relieve the pain, improve joint flexibility, and promote healing.

Besides, if you are struggling with a cough, cold, or other forms of respiratory problems,  soursop can help relieve congestion and soothe irritation. By getting rid of the phlegm, you will get rid of an environment where pathogens usually reside.

3. Controls parasites

A tea brewed from the leaves of this fruit is a popular and effective treatment for parasitic infections and is widely used in rural areas where such infections are common and where no medications are available. Recent scientific studies confirmed the anti-parasitic properties of soursop. Local people also use soursop to treat different viral and bacterial infections, ranging from colds and flu to herpes.

4. Relieves stress and treats insomnia

Soursop tea  is a well-known natural therapy for stress-relief. It also helps with anxiety and has a soothing effect on both your body and mind. Stress hormones can wreak havoc in your body if not managed, so if you live with chronic stress and find it hard to sleep peacefully, try having a cup of soursop tea at bedtime.

5. Improves skin health

Pulverized seeds of soursop can be used in cosmetics to reduce the wrinkles, age spots, and other skin problems. If pulverized seeds are turned into a paste, it becomes a facial cream that will quickly return the feeling of freshness to your skin. Besides helping you have fresh-looking and lines-free skin, this cream also has antibacterial and antimicrobial properties and will help keep your skin healthy. As a recent study confirmed, an extract of soursop leaves can even help prevent skin papilloma. Soursop leaves have such a calming effect on the skin, that they can be used to soothe the irritated skin of babies. Soursop paste can also be used for hair treatment to remove dandruff and itching while strengthening the hair.

 What Dr. Sebi Recommended Soursop For

 Soursop is one of the fruits on the Dr. Sebi-approved food list which means it is one of the few foods that was considered safe to consume on an alkaline diet. Dr. Sebi used soursop both for nutrition and for healing.

2 things Dr. Sebi recommended soursop for:

• Nutrition

High in phytochemicals and  anti-cancer, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties, all parts of this tropical plant have medicinal properties. Being very healing and highly nutritious, soursop improves your wellbeing regardless of which part of the plant you use and whether you use it internally or externally. Soursop can be taken as a tea or tincture but it’s best to eat the fruit and leaves raw. Dr. Sebi believed that prevention is better than cure and recommended soursop as a way of healing BEFORE the first symptoms of the disease appear.

• Detox

Soursop is one of the herbs Dr. Sebi used to free the body of toxins and to boost the immune system. All parts of this plant have detoxing properties –  soursop juice, soursop tea, and soursop fruit. As your liver is your key detox organ, all foods that support it, and soursop is one of them, can help you detox naturally. According to Dr. Sebi, detoxing, ie cleansing was the most important part of the healing process and the pace at which you heal depends mainly on how thoroughly your body had been cleansed.